Huskies Head To Eugene For First 2020 Road Game
Gameday Central | Full UW Game Notes
THE GAME: The Washington football team (3-1 Pac-12, 3-1 overall) plays its first road game of the season Saturday, Dec. 12, when the Huskies take on Oregon (3-2, 3-2) in Eugene. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. and the game will air on FOX TV. The following weekend's schedule, which includes the Pac-12 Championship Game on Fri. Dec. 18, remains to be determined by the conference office.
QUICK HITTERS: Washington will have gone 385 days since its previous road game when the Huskies take on the Ducks this Saturday ... UW's last road game (not counting the Las Vegas Bowl) was Nov. 23, 2019, at Colorado ... the Huskies have allowed just one sack, which was a one-yard loss on a run out of bounds ... only one team in the nation (Buffalo, four games) has allowed no sacks ... UW has yet to lose a fumble this season ... only two other teams (San Jose State and Washington State) have yet to lose a fumble this year ... OLB Zion Tupuola-Fetui, in his first three career starts, had seven sacks and three forced fumbles ... 11 true freshmen have played this season: OL Roger Rosengarten; TB Javon Forward; DBs Makell Esteen and Jacobe Covington; LS Jaden Green; TE Mark Redman; OLBs Cooper McDonald and Sav'ell Smalls; and WRs Jalen McMillan, Sawyer Racanelli, and Rome Odunze ... three true freshmen – Smalls, Odunze and McMillan – started vs. Stanford, the first three freshmen to start this saeson ... UW RS-freshman Dylan Morris started at QB in the opener vs. OSU, joining Jake Locker (RS-freshman in 2007) and Jake Browning (true freshman in 2015) to start a season opener as a freshman, in the modern era ... of the 110 players on the UW football roster, just under half (54) are freshmen or redshirt freshmen, and an additional 33 are sophomores, meaning that 85 players have two or more years of eligibility remaining (not even taking into account this season's paused eligibility) ... the UW has gone 75 games in a row without allowing an opponent to score more than 35 points, the longest such streak in the nation ... next-longest such streak is 33 games (San Diego State).
TELEVISION: The UW-Oregon game will air on FOX, with Joe Davis (play by play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst) calling the action. Fans can also watch via various FOX platforms, including foxsports.com/live.
RADIO: Radio coverage of the 2020 Husky Football team along the Washington Sports Network from Learfield IMG College is already underway. The Jimmy Lake Show is a one-hour weekly show featuring the Huskies' head coach, airing live on Wednesday nights from 6-7 p.m. PT. On game day, live coverage begins four hours before kickoff with Husky Gameday hosted by Dave 'Softy' Mahler, Dick Baird and others. Castricone, Huard and Elise Woodward will call the play-by-play of the games.
All shows are available live on flagship station SportsRadio 950 KJR, the Washington Sports Network, and the Huskies Gameday mobile app, as well as available on demand on the GoHuskies Podcast.The UW broadcast of the game will also air on Sirius 99 and XM 198.
HUSKIES vs. DUCKS HISTORY: Washington leads the all-time series against the Ducks with 60 wins, 47 losses and five ties.
In games played in Seattle, the Huskies are 32-22-4 against their cross-border rivals, while in games played in Eugene, the Ducks enjoy an 18-13 edge all-time (Oregon's home games vs. the UW were played in Portland for many years). The Ducks have had the edge of late, winning 19 of the last 25 against the Dawgs.
Last year in Seattle, Oregon scored with 5:10 remaining in the game to win 35-31. Washington could only reach the Ducks' 35-yard line on the ensuing drive before failing to convert a fourth down. Salvon Ahmed rushed for 140 yards and Jacob Eason passed for 289 and three TDs for the Dawgs.
In 2018 in Eugene, the Ducks edged the Huskies, 30-27, in overtime. Washington got a field goal in the opening overtime period, but the Ducks scored a touchdown in their possession to win the game.
In 2017 in Seattle, UW's Dante Pettis broke the NCAA record with his ninth career punt return for a TD and the UW held Oregon to just 31 passing yards in a 38-3 UW win. In 2016, the Dawgs broke the Ducks' long win streak in the series with a 70-21 win in Eugene. Jake Browning was 22-for-28 for 304 yards and a school-record six TD passes (plus two rushing TDs) while Myles Gaskin rushed for 197 yards on just 16 carries.
In 2015 in Seattle, Oregon won, 26-20, as a third-quarter, 72-yard run from Myles Gaskin and a three-yard pass from Browning to Jaydon Mickens in the fourth brought the UW to within six points. The Ducks, however, intercepted a last-minute pass to preserve the win. In 2014 in Eugene, a 21-point output from Oregon in the second quarter was the major difference in a 45-20 Ducks win. In 2013 at Husky Stadium, the Ducks stretched a seven-point lead heading into the fourth quarter into a 45-24 victory. Marcus Mariota passed for 366 yards and three TDs rushed for 88 and one while the Huskies got 167 rushing yards from Bishop Sankey. In 2012 in Eugene, second-ranked Oregon beat No. 23 Washington, 52-21.
In 2011, in the final game at the old Husky Stadium, the Ducks beat the UW, 34-17. In 2010 in Eugene, UW QB Keith Price made his first college start in a 53-16 Husky loss. Oregon led 18-16 in the third quarter before pulling away. In 2009 at Husky Stadium, Oregon won, 43-19. In 2008 in Eugene in the season-opener for both teams, Jeremiah Masoli came off the bench and led the Ducks to a 44-10 win. In 2007 in Seattle, the Huskies and Ducks were tied at 31-31 after three quarters before Oregon pulled away in the final period for a 55-34 win.
The Huskies' last win over Oregon prior to 2016 was in 2003, when Shelton Sampson and Kenny James both rushed for over 100 yards in a 42-10 Husky victory. Washington and Oregon first met on the football field in 1900, a 43-0 Oregon win in Eugene. The Huskies got their first win in the series in the next meeting, a 6-5 victory in 1903. From 1974 to 1993, Washington won 17 of 20 meetings. The series also features one of the biggest year-to-year turnarounds in college football history as the Ducks beat the Huskies, 58-0, in 1973 and then lost at the UW, 66-0, the following year.
DAWGS AND THE NORTHWEST: Washington's most-played rivalries are against the other three other northwest Pac-12 schools. The Huskies have faced Washington State 112 times, Oregon in 112 games and Oregon State on 105 occasions. Washington owns the advantage in all three series. The Huskies lead the Ducks 60-47-5, Washington State 74-32-6 and Oregon State 67-34-4. Combined, Washington has a 201-113-15 (.634) record against its northwest rivals. Washington has played all three of the Northwest teams in a season on 91 prior occasions. Over those 91 seasons in which Oregon, OSU and WSU were all on the UW schedule, the Dawgs have swept all three 30 times. In the meantime, the Huskies have lost to all three in the same season on only seven occasions.
OPPONENTS 35-AND-UNDER: Washington hasn't allowed an opponent to score more than 35 points in a game since a 44-30 loss at UCLA in 2014. That's a streak of 75 games in a row that the Huskies' opponent has failed to score more than 35. In that 75-game stretch, Husky foes have scored 30 or more just 12 times (of those 12, five were exactly 30 points) and have been held to 14 or fewer points 31 times. In that same span of 75 games, the UW has scored more than 35 points on 30 occasions. No other team in the FBS has a current streak longer than 33 games (San Diego State).
RETURNING STARTERS: While the official number of "returning starters" this year for Washington includes just five defensive and two offensive players, a deeper look at the numbers reveals a lot more experience. In fact, not counting specialists (UW returns its starting placekicker and holder), Washington has 13 current players who have started at least one game on offense, and 11 who have started on defense – though obviously most of those were not the primary starter at any one position last season. Those 24 individuals had started 208 career games, collectively, at the start of the 2020 season.
YOUTH: Washington's roster remains on the young side. Of the 110 current active players, one less than half – 54 – are freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Washington's roster includes one graduate student, 11 seniors, 11 juniors, 33 sophomores, 21 redshirt freshmen and 33 true freshmen.
DEFENSE vs. BIG PLAYS: The UW allowed just seven scrimmage plays of 40 or more yards all of last season, the eighth-lowest total (tied) in the nation. The median for 40-plus yard plays was 14. The Huskies allowed just two plays over 50 yards, the third-lowest (tied) total (the median was seven). The year before, the Huskies gave up just ONE scrimmage play of 40 or more yards all season. No other FBS team allowed fewer than four and 102 teams allowed 10 or more that year. In 2017, the UW also led the nation with fewest 40-yard scrimmage plays allowed (3) and were second in fewest 30-yard plays (14). They were tied for 5th and 2nd, respectively, in 2016. In 2020, Washington has played just four games, but allowed only one scrimmage play of 40-plus yards, tied for the third-fewest in the FBS (two teams have allowed none so far). UW is one of just seven teams that has yet to allow a scrimmage play over 50 yards this season.